Twelfth Night Read Online Free PDF Page B

dish, salted herring
had been baked with dry bread and herbs and eggs and other
ingredients that Aline could only guess at, to make a tasty
casserole. The second presentation was a large freshwater fish,
poached and served up with an elaborate sauce. There was also a
stew of boiled vegetables, and there was plenty of fresh bread and
a wheel of cheese. Wanting to keep a clear head, Aline switched
from the hot, spiced wine to homemade perry, a ciderlike beverage
made from pears.
    “This seems more a feast than a fast,” she
said to Adam.
    “With no meats and wooden plates and cups
instead of silver, I would hardly call it a feast,” he told her.
“On Christmas, we will have oysters. I brought a barrel of them
home with me.” He paused, watching while Constance served poached
fish to Blaise and ladled sauce for him. Dipping his spoon into his
plate, Blaise tasted the dish.
    “’Tis good,” he said, nodding his approval.
“I like the sauce.”
    “I am pleased, my lord. Cook will be happy.”
Constance began to blush.
    “Sit with me,” Blaise ordered, catching her
wrist, “and eat from my plate.”
    “Oh, no, my lord, I cannot. I have so much to
do. I beg you to excuse me.” Her face now bright red, Constance
pulled her wrist from Blaise’s grasp and left the dais, heading
towards the screens passage and the kitchen. Blaise sent a scowling
look after her.
    “Silly girl,” Adam said beneath his breath.
“Each time he tries to be kind to her, she runs away from him.”
    “She is shy.” Aline felt compelled to speak,
though she did not want to reveal what Connie had confided to her.
“It’s possible that she finds your son a bit intimidating.”
    “Well, she should not. She is his wife and
lady of this castle, since I have no wife at present.” Adam raised
a spoon filled with fish to his mouth. Aline waited, sure he would
have more to say on the subject of Blaise and Connie. She was
right. Adam swallowed the fish, took a sip of wine, and went on.
“For myself, I think people ought to have the good sense to make
the best of the lives they have been given.”
    “Is that what you did?”
    “Aye.” He applied himself to the fish on his
plate. “Lady Judith was a good woman. She managed my household well
and never interfered with my duties as lord. She gave me my heir.
We respected each other, and I grieved deeply at the loss when she
died.”
    “Did you love her?” It was an impertinent
question, but Aline had to know the answer.
    “Love?’ He stopped eating. “Of course not. I
have observed that whenever nobles indulge in such passions, it
always seems to end badly.”
    “So I have also observed,” Aline said dryly,
thinking of her own life. “Still, what we are talking about between
Blaise and Constance is not desperate, soaring passion, but a
degree of warmth that will allow them to live together in peace and
contentment.”
    “It is perfectly obvious that they are not
content now,” Adam agreed. “I love Blaise well and I wish him
happy. I have advised him as best I can, but I am not skilled in
dealing with a woman like Constance. My Judith would never let
herself be cowed by me, and I respected her for it.” He sent Aline
a long, assessing look.
    “My lady, would you think me presumptuous if
I asked for your help? If you can think of a way to make that
marriage a happier one, I will be forever grateful to you. Perhaps
I should not speak so freely to one whom I do not know, and a woman
at that. But then, perhaps a woman will know better than a man what
ought to be done.”
    “I very much doubt that Blaise would listen
to anything I have to say.”
    “Talk to me,” Adam said, “and I will convey
your thoughts to Blaise as if they were my own. Meanwhile, you
could speak with Constance.”
    “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”
    “Lady Aline, you owe me a favor.” His hand
covering hers took the sting out of his insistent words. “Did I not
this very day rescue you from death by